What's wrong with a snake that just wants to cultivate and transform?

In the sword formation, the Elders had initially thought that capturing a mere fourteenth-rank Spirit Snake and two traitorous counterparts of the same rank would be a straightforward task. However, when they took a closer look, they were shocked to find that all of their colleagues, including Elder Qing Jiu and two others, had been annihilated by the Nine Turns Spirit Snake. The scene of their deaths was horrific, with their bodies mangled beyond recognition.

The death of their long-time comrades naturally incited fury in the remaining Elders. Previously holding back their trump cards, they now unleashed their deadliest techniques, targeting Ji Yuebai outside the sword formation. Their plan was to break through her defense and directly attack the Spirit Snake on the ground.

After dozens of exchanges with Ji Yuebai, the Elders realized how powerful of an opponent she was. Killing her would require significant effort, and she was only capable of delaying them, not defeating them. Weighing their options, they decided to abandon the tough fight with Ji Yuebai and focus on their original target, the Spirit Snake.

As an extraordinary talent crafted later in life, the Nine Turns Spirit Gathering Body had yet to fully mature. Even though she had formed a pact with the remnant soul of the Manhuang serpent, she couldn’t always rely on its protection. Such a Spirit Snake was an excellent supplement for ascending to higher realms. The demise of Elder Qing Jiu and the others was almost a blessing, as it meant more shares of this precious resource for each of them.

Thinking this, led by Elder Qing San, several elders braved the sword formation’s damage and rushed directly to Xu Nian.

She was their coveted prize, capable of boosting their pursuit of the ultimate path and ascension to immortality.

Elder Qing San’s claws reached for the Spirit Snake’s neck, seemingly moments away from snapping it. However, his movements, as if prolonged by an active thought, slowed to an excruciating crawl, never quite reaching the Spirit Snake.

Elder Qing Lu was the first to sense something amiss. He telepathically warned the others, “Retreat! We’ve fallen into an illusion. This Spirit Snake had been infected with the Water Moon Butterfly illusion technique even before entering the Serpent Valley.”

Elder Qing San, frustrated, retorted, “Why the hell didn’t you say so earlier?”

Elder Qing Lu replied defensively, “In all these years, which beast infected with the Water Moon Butterfly illusion lived more than a year? Isn’t it an accepted fact in the demonic world that this legacy was deliberately left to create nuisance? I thought we’d use her blood first and then kill her before the illusion turns deadly. Who would’ve thought this damned illusion legacy could actually be real?”

Elder Qing Lu’s point was valid. Recalling the horrifying state of the corpses of the three recently deceased Elders and others previously affected by the Water Moon Butterfly illusion, they realized the similarities. No one knew what they had seen or how they had died so gruesomely in the illusion.

Illusion cultivation, a rare and peculiar path, focuses on the mind and is known for its unpredictable combat style. Even those who have survived encounters with illusionists often can’t explain their injuries.

To defeat an illusion cultivator, one must possess overwhelming power to crush the illusion on a higher level. Without their illusions, these cultivators were as vulnerable as a prawn, easily crushed with a flick of a finger.

Elder Qing San might have acted more cautiously on his own, but with such a golden opportunity and the backing of eight fifteenth-rank elders, he didn’t fear confronting Xu Nian, a fledgling fourteenth-rank illusion cultivator.

Ignoring Elder Qing Lu’s advice to retreat, Elder Qing San commanded all the Elders to form a battle formation, determined to shatter the fragile illusion created by their opponent with a massive wave of spiritual energy.

Elder Qing San, an Elder with centuries of life experience, though not a practitioner of illusion techniques, had studied them extensively. He knew that the development of an illusion, much like the formation techniques of human cultivators, required planning and layout. A glance, a smile, or a subtle, barely noticeable movement could signal the beginning of an illusion. Then, it would need continuous expenditure of illusion power to imagine and solidify the illusory realm. The more complex the setup, the more indestructible the illusion becomes.

From the moment they broke through the sword formation to confronting the Spirit Snake, although it seemed like they had made many moves and preparations, it had only been a matter of a single breath’s time. In such a brief duration, even if an illusion could be set up to hinder their attack, it was likely to be a weak and easily breakable one.

Just as Elder Qing San had predicted, he heard a sound like shattering porcelain in his ears.

The illusion shattered.

The smug smile that was about to form on Elder Qing San’s face froze as he suddenly noticed the terrifying Manhuang serpent, the very creature they had been vigilant against, now appeared before them. Its overwhelming presence spread out, its massive form enough to envelop all nine Elders. The oppressive bulk of the serpent struck fear into the Elders behind Qing San.

It was a fear stemming from the absolute dominance of a superior bloodline.

Elder Qing San, unwilling to accept defeat, stared at the suddenly appeared Manhuang serpent and telepathically communicated to the other Elders, “Don’t be fooled by her. This Manhuang serpent is just another illusion she created. It can’t actually cause harm; it’s just a facade. Even if it were real, its soul is attached to the body summoned by the Spirit Snake. We just need to activate the Seven Stars Soul-Locking Formation we prepared earlier to extract its soul. Then, no matter how strong its body is, it will be nothing more than prey trapped in a cage, waiting to be slaughtered.”

To boost morale, Elder Qing San was the first to attack the Manhuang serpent blocking Xu Nian.

However, his swift movement suddenly halted midway.

Blood gushed from his shoulder, and Elder Qing San first felt a chill, followed by an excruciating pain tearing through his body. Bearing the agony, he looked down, horrified to find that half of his body was missing, and the other half had turned into chunks of flesh under the tail of the Manhuang serpent.

Elder Qing Lu’s eyes widened in disbelief. How could the suddenly appeared Manhuang serpent be real?

“Quick, activate the Seven Stars Soul-Locking Formation!” he urgently commanded the remaining Elders in his mind.

But how could the Manhuang serpent just watch them initiate a formation against itself? Its colossal body swept across the Elders’ formation, initiating a bloody massacre.

When Ji Yuebai realized that the Elders had abandoned their attack on her to instead target Xu Nian, it was already a step too late.

The Elders, coordinating their moves through telepathic communication, initiated a fierce and unyielding offensive. Had Ji Yuebai relaxed her vigilance even slightly or failed to preempt their assault by preparing a Lesser Escape Technique talisman, she would have faced certain decapitation. Deeply focused on managing the crisis with utmost precision, she didn’t realize in time that the three Elders who had launched an attack from below were already dead.

This momentary oversight led to the remaining nine elders, risking injury from her icy sword formation, launching a unified attack to assassinate Xu Nian. Their movements, characteristic of their serpentine species’ lightning-fast attacks, were even swifter given their higher rank. In the blink of an eye, they reached Xu Nian.

Even as Ji Yuebai pushed her spiritual energy to its limits, she was only barely trailing behind them, unable to intercept their attack in time. Her heart seemed to stop in that moment, fury and murderous intent surged within her…

But the scene that unfolded before her eyes was beyond her expectations.

The Elders attacking Xu Nian suddenly slowed their movements as they were about to touch her, eventually almost coming to a complete halt.

Ji Yuebai, overwhelmed by her intense emotions and unable to retract her spiritual energy enhanced sword strikes, slashed directly at the leading Elder.

Simultaneously, Xu Nian’s complex hand gestures, following the trajectory of Ji Yuebai’s frosty sword strikes, led to Elder Qing San being cut in half without any resistance.

The other Elders behind Qing San panicked at thin air, fleeing like startled quails, a complete contrast to their previously ruthless demeanor within the sword formation.

Ji Yuebai immediately realized they must have fallen into an illusion created by Xu Nian.

Her gaze swept over Xu Nian, and only after confirming that she was unharmed did she let out a quiet sigh of relief.

Xu Nian’s changing hand gestures seemed to herd the Elders away like obedient sheep.

Her long, curled eyelashes trembled, her enchanting black eyes rippling like autumn water. Her lips pursed as if she struggled with a great internal conflict, hesitating for several seconds before finally confessing, “Yuebai, I… remember now.”

The woman in white, a rare sight of confusion on her face, trembled involuntarily with the blood-stained sword in her hand. Her delicate features tensed, her dark eyes fixated on Xu Nian’s flushed cheeks.

An onslaught of emotions – excitement, fear, confusion, joy, concern – assaulted Ji Yuebai’s heart. She couldn’t quite describe the feeling. While she had hoped for Xu Nian to regain her memory, the allure of the beautiful illusion they had lived in was hard to let go of. The amnesiac Xu Nian had expressed her love without reservation, drawing Ji Yuebai deep into its embrace.

But for Xu Nian, who had regained her memory, could these recent days be nothing more than a fleeting dream?

When the dream ends, boundaries can be redrawn.

Seeing Ji Yuebai silent, Xu Nian grew increasingly anxious. Although the events in the dream were bold and outrageous, they weren’t without her own subconscious desires. When those wild memories flooded her mind, while she was shocked at her shamelessness, she didn’t deny her feelings for Ji Yuebai. She knew herself well, after all.

But sometimes, the dream was too beautiful, and she dared not contemplate it further.